Annual Junior Showcase
The Border Club in Hawick presented some of the young talent of the Borders on Friday 15th August 2014 in it's Annual Junior Showcase
For some of the performers this was the very first time they had played or sang in front of an audience, I felt very honoured to be present for this and many thanks go to the Border Club for supporting the young people in this way, there are so few opportunities for young people to perform, to learn the skills they will need if they want to go forward with a musical career and what a great place to start.
The Border Club is one of the friendliest places in the Borders, there's always a lovely welcome when you walk through the door and it's always a pleasure to go to anything they put on, from Burns Suppers, to Rugby matches on THE biggest telly I've ever seen.. they're great at supporting live local music as well as treating us to some artists from further afield too, the place is very much made by the people invloved in running it and their enthusiasm and hard work shines through making every night there a very enjoyable one.
The Annual Junior Showcase was hosted by Robert Scott a very able and talented young lad, who I found out last night is only 16 years old, I've met Robert on several occasions, usually at Scocha concerts, but I was quite shocked at his age, he's one of the most mature 16 year olds I've ever met, he's a great photographer as well as having the gift of a taleneted musician with a great voice, but the thing I love most about Robert, is that he's so true to himself, he's Hawick through and through and has such a pride in his performance, steeped in history and knowlege it's young men like Robert that you look at and know that the future of your traditions will be safe in his hands, what a pleasure to see yet another string to his bow last night and what a lovely traditional Scottish voice he has, this lad will go a long way without ever leaving the place he loves behind.
The performers on the night were: Robert Scott, Katie Templeman, Daniel Nixon, Ben McCredie & Andrew Boles, who stepped in at the last minute to cover for someone who couldn't make it, always a hard thing to do, so well done to Andrew for his support, I must confess to having a little soft spot for young Ben McCredie, for such a young lad he gave a very controlled and meaningful performance, but everyone was great, so nice to see the instramental performances from Katie Templeman on Viola and Danies Nixon on Fiddle too, it filled me full of pride to see such great young talent and I wish them all well in the future.
I've put together some clips from the night so you can see for yourself..thank you to everyone who took part in making the night happen, these things don't happen by themselves, it takes dedication, determination and hard work, something I find is never lacking in the people of Hawick!
